Fire and Rain
by Matriaya
Summary: Giovanni is bent on destroying Ash’s life, one thing at a time. With only Misty left, the two are running for their lives. When Misty’s is threatened though, Ash must face his hidden emotions or face the haunting question… why didn’t I tell her?
1. Running

Title: Fire and Rain  
  
Author: Matriaya (oh, me! Pick me!)  
  
Summary: Giovanni is bent on destroying Ash's life, one thing at a time. With only Misty left, the two are running for their lives. When Misty's is threatened though, Ash must face his hidden emotions or face the haunting question… why didn't I tell her?  
  
Disclaimer: None of this stuff belongs to me, its all property of whoever created Pokemon… don't sue me, I have no money. Oh wait! I found a nickel! Here, do you want this?  
  
Dedication: Okay, this goes out to my friend Star for getting me hooked on AAML and pokemon. Love you girl!   
  
(A/N = blah blah blah, okay, I'll shut up and give you the story now. Please r/r! I'd love you forever, really I would!)  
  
  
  
  
Ash stumbled his way through the dark, rain-soaked forest on a desperate search to find the one. The one man who had made it a hobby to destroy his life, one little day at a time. Team rocket had been a mere whisper to the great shouting fury that this one man possessed. That one man was Giovanni.   
"Come out, come out!" he shouted, his voice booming through the trees. A slight tug at his sleeve caught Ash's attention. Misty, who had run by his side this whole time, pulled him into a small cave-like indentation in the rocks. Lightening streaked across the sky, painting enchanting pictures of fear and beauty; and thunder followed triumphantly. Brock was gone, as was Tracey. Even Jessie and James, who had joined their side to fight Giovanni, were captured. What hurt the most though was not having his little yellow friend by his side. Ash had to watch as, for the first successful time in history, a bigger and better Team Rocket captured Pikachu. Oblivious to Ash's tormented shouts, the infamous hot air balloon, this time with a demonic-looking Meowth, floated away into the storming sky. Giovanni's plan was simple enough… destroy everything Ash holds dear, therefore destroying his will to continue on.   
  
'Misty,' Ash thought, as he looked over at his friend. 'Giovanni hasn't taken her away.' Misty leaned back against the rock, shutting her eyes as she caught her breath. Her red hair, usually pulled back in a ponytail, had fallen out and was now soaked with water – clinging to her face and shoulders.   
"How many Pokemon do you have left?" Ash asked her. She took a moment to answer.  
"3…I think. Starme, Pollywag, and I managed to grab your Bulbasuar." She told him, her eyes still shut. Ash's mind whirled with different escape plans, but each one of them ended in the two of them being dragged off in chains by Giovanni. Their nemesis seemed to be everyone, behind every rock, tree, and bush. The horrible howl of the wind seemed almost comforting next to his menacing laugh.   
  
"There's no need to hide!" Giovanni called out 20 feet from their small refuge. "Come out! Fight like a man! Prove yourself!"   
Misty gasped, Ash knew why. He felt the rage and determination bubble up inside. Prove yourself. Those words were the basis of all he was trying to achieve in the Pokemon world. Proving himself to everyone had been his goal. Giovanni was just trying to mock him, taunt him, and he knew that. But old habits die hard, and the need to prove that he was stronger than Giovanni was overpowering. Without even realizing it, he took a step forward out from under their rock shelter. Misty grabbed his arm.  
"Ash, no!" her emotive blue eyes pleaded with him to stay. "If you go out their, Giovanni will kill you! You have no Pokemon, remember?"   
He paid her no heed, but continued advancing forward.   
  
"Fine then," she said, shoving herself off the rock with a defiant heave, "I'm coming with you."   
That got his attention.  
"No Misty, you stay here," he commanded, trying to sound noble and in charge. By the annoyed and rebellious look on her face, it was obvious she was in no mood to listen.   
"Misty…" he began again, but this time she cut him off.  
"You know what Ash?" she whirled around to face him, rain pouring down onto her small, slender frame. "You're going to need all the help you can get out there against him, and incase you haven't noticed, I'm about the only person left!"   
'Believe me,' he told her silently. 'I've noticed.'   
"I'm coming with you whether you like it or not," she continued, then turned and walked into the darkened clearing.   
  
(A/N = dun dun duuuuun! Oh no, what will happen? Since I'm tottaly evil I'm going to make you all SUFFER!!!! Mua-ha-ha! All you have to do is be a good little reader and click on the pretty button that says "Review." Come on… you know you want to….) 


	2. Fighting Evil

"Well, well. What have we here?" Giovanni asked with a smug smile. "Your little girlfriend's come to help you has she?"   
Ash just glared at him in disgust. He glanced over at Misty, and found her head bowed in slight embarrassment, her cheeks flushed. Even more anger coursed through him.  
'How dare he say such things to Misty!' he exclaimed to himself, and whipped out his Bulbasuar.  
"Bulbasuar, I choose you!" he exclaimed, and his trusty Pokemon burst forth onto the slick ground at his feet. Giovanni raised one eyebrow in skepticism.  
"A bulbasuar?" he asked. "You've got to be joking."  
Ash ignored him.  
"Bulbasuar, go! Vinewhip attack!" he cried out, and Bulbasuar sprang into action. The vines got about half way to their destination when they clashed with another pair of vines. Ash looked up in surprise. Giovanni had a bulbasuar… his bulbasuar!  
  
Or was it his bulbasuar? It looked exactly like his bulbasuar, with the same scars and everything, yet his bulbasuar was at his side. His confusion was quickly relinquished by Giovanni's evil laugh.   
"I see you've noticed my new pokemon. Even better than a ditto! With my new creation, I know all your battle moves. You can't win Ash!" he cried out. Lightening struck a near-by tree which lit on fire and fell to the ground.   
"Bulbasuar, return!" Ash cried out in frustration.   
'What do I use?' he thought to himself, 'He can beat anything I throw at him! I…' His thoughts were cut off by a scream. He knew exactly who it was. Misty.  
  
Ash looked over at his friend, and was horrified by the sight. Giovanni had his Bulbasuar's vines wrapped around Misty's arms and legs. But something was different. A blue/silver light was moving in bursts back to the Bulbasuar from her body.   
"Misty!" he shouted out, rushing forward. Her face was contorted in pain, and her breath came out in small, shallow gasps. The vines had dug so deep into her skin, trickles of blood leaked out from underneath them. Unsure of what to do, Ash grabbed a hold of the vines and tried prying them away from her limbs. It did no good though. The more she struggled, the tighter it wrapped around her. Another painful scream ripped the bleak night air, and more of the silver/blue light went towards the Bulbasuar. With every pass of the light, her face grew paler and paler, and her breath grew thinner and thinner.   
  
Giovanni just laughed.   
"Stop it!" Ash screamed out, his eyes darting from the hidious man to his friend. "Let her go! She's no part of this!"   
Again, he laughed.  
"See now that's where you're wrong," Giovanni informed him with a sly grin. "If I kill her now, you will be stuck living the rest of your life in guilt that you hadn't told her."   
Ash shook his head.   
"What the hell are you talking about?" he screamed above the roar of the thunder.   
"You will soon find out!" Giovanni said. A final horrifying shriek escaped Misty, and then Giovanni drew away his Bulbasuar and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Misty slumped to the ground. Dread and fear washed over Ash in tidal waves.   
She wasn't moving.  
  
Here's thanks to people!  
  
Snea = I'm writing, I'm writing! Don't kill me! Ahh!  
  
Miss-Ashley= ahhh, but cliffhangers are so much fun! How do you like this one? Bad enough for you? Mua-ha-ha! (like my evil laugh?)  
  
Marlex = I like your screenname! Its awsome, does it mean something?  
  
Pokegirl = nooo!!! Not the evil lab monkey! Anything but that!   
  
Fortuity Rose = Ahhh! It's the evil pilot fish! Help! ::runs screaming like the evil lab monkey:: next time I'll tell you before I post a story so you can be the first to review!   
  
Dragon Empress= ::stares at her as if she were crazy:: hehe! You're right! Cliffhangers are evil, but they're so fun! Torturing you guys is loads of fun!  
  
Flash = is this chapter longer?  
  
Misty's Twin= I'll go read your story right now! I'm sure you're an excellent writer!  
  
MistyMew= Giovanni makes a wonderful bad guy! Constructive cristisim is always welcome, thanks! This story was going to be one long post, but I broke it up into 3 in hopes of getting more reviews!   
  
Star= girl, why haven't you reviewed? Bad star!  
  
Thanks so much all of you for reviewing. Last, or second to last (haven't decided yet!) post coming up soon. Love you all lots!  
  
  
Be good readers and review! 


	3. Confessions

"Misty!" he called out, running to her side. She lay unconscious, rivulets of blood running down her arms and legs. "Misty, can you hear me?"   
No response. His fingers trembling with adrenaline and panic, he groped her neck in a desperate search for her pulse. After several long moment of not finding anything, tears welled up in his eyes.   
'She's not even breathing,' he thought, his heart sinking. 'Not even goddamn breathing!' An anguished scream ripped from his heart, mingling with the heartless rumble of thunder.   
A million things shot through his head. Misty… Misty.   
'Honestly Ash, what are you going to do without me?' Her voice echoed in his brain. What was he going to do without her? Her beautiful blue eyes, always filled with love and comfort, her cute smile lighting up even the dullest of days. He had never before noticed the milky whiteness of her skin, or the vibrant red of her hair; which the flames of the burning tree nearby brought out so well. Her cheerful laugh had always been able to make him smile, even if he had just lost 20 pokebattles in a row.   
  
'Could this be what Giovanni was talking about?' Ash wondered, as he held Misty's limp form in his arms. 'What is this feeling?'   
Though he couldn't quite place the emotion, he knew well enough that a part of his heart… a big part… was slowly dying as he looked down on the motionless form of his friend.   
"Misty…" he croaked out, touching one cheek gently with his hand. "You can't leave me. Please…"   
The rain mingled with the warm saltiness of his tears.  
"I know I haven't always been the greatest friend," he told her softly. "I've been too obsessed with Pokemon training and all that, and I never paid any attention to what really mattered most. There's so much I haven't told you Misty… so much you need to know,"   
"If I kill her now, you will be stuck living the rest of your life in guilt that you hadn't told her." Giovanni's words echoed in his mind, truer than life.   
'I haven't told her… I haven't told her….' Over and over his mind repeated those words.   
"Misty I…" he choked up, the lump in the back of his throat growing larger and larger. "I love you." He whispered his confession softly to her. Misty, the girl he stole a bike from all those years ago, his best friend in the entire world. He was in love with her, and now she would never know.  
  
The world passed by in slow motion, even the raindrops fell at a slower pace. Sob after sob racked his body, as he slumped down over his only love's lifeless form. Ash wanted to run, far far away from where he sat. He wanted to kill that bastard Giovanni, then bring him back to life and kill him again. The man had taken his whole life and shattered it into smithereens. First his friends, then Pikachu, and now the carrier of his heart, all destroyed by the wrath of that dreadful man.   
"Ash," the wind whispered his name, with the sweet voice of his angel. Ash stared up at the sky with bitterness and spite.   
'Why her?' he screamed silently.   
"Ash," his name came again, louder this time. If it weren't for the slight movement against his chest, he would've passed it off as more mocking from the wind. It wasn't though. Ash looked down.  
  
Misty's beautiful blue eyes stared up at him, and the smallest of smiles danced on her delicate red lips.   
"M… Misty?" his voice came out no more than a whisper, but she heard it and nodded. With what little strength her body had, she pushed herself up until she was resting on her hands, her face level with his. Bewilderment, confusion, and immense happiness surged through Ash's body. She was alive! A million different things burst through his brain, but non of them were even slightly coherent. The firelight danced on her face, and the rain smoothed down her hair as she smiled at him with beauty and enchantment. Then, slowly and delicately, she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips.   
"I love you too," she said softly as she pulled away slightly to look into his eyes. Ash felt his heart fly. His gorgous angel had returned to him. Running his fingers through her wet hair, he pulled her close and kissed her passionately. With thunder booming and lightening dancing across the sky, their souls bonded for all of eternity, and life became pure heaven.  
  
(A/N= Dedication time!!! Yippy skippy!  
  
ChildSnake – Takizan, be nice to childsnake! She can be weird if she wants! Hehe!  
  
??? --- Oh, a mysterious one are you? Well, thanks anyway for the review! It meant a lot!  
  
Flash – Don't worry, I would never kill Misty! I'd never be that cruel. Although… (muahaha!)  
  
Mistys Twin – you're mentioned twice! Twice! Two times! Ahhhhhh!  
  
Eric – you didn't review but thanks for reading babe! The blue faerie reigns over all! Ahh!  
  
Thanks guys for reading! I love you all! This is the last post, and this is my first pokefic. Okay, so its not, but my first isn't on fanfic.net. maybe I'll put it on…. maybe….. any requests? Hmmm? Its shippy! It is! Okay byers!) 


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